After appeasing the Cursed Tudor Emblem with fresh Wofal Bee wax, Ebner glanced at his pocket watch and realized it was already time for breakfast. Lost in thought, he made his way out of the basement and into the dining hall on the first floor.
By then, Miss Gwen, Lydia, Tran, and the others had also woken up.
It was evident that Tran looked much better than the day before—Darkwill's medicine had indeed been highly effective.
Ebner used a small knife to slice off a piece of bacon, placing it between two soft slices of bread along with a fully cooked, double-sided fried egg. He then spread a layer of sauce over the top.
In a typical wealthy household, such tasks would be performed by dining maids. However, though Ebner enjoyed the finer things in life, he wasn't comfortable with that particular display of etiquette…
One could indulge in luxury, but refusing to perform such a simple task oneself? That would be truly decadent.
On the other side of the table, Miss Gwen swallowed a piece of roasted mushroom before initiating a conversation.
"Mr. Bryan, aside from the items listed, will there be any other extraordinary objects at tonight's gathering?"
"The list is just a reference," Ebner replied, taking a sip of Felmer coffee. The rich aroma lingered in his mouth as he turned his gaze to Gwen with a smile. "Why? Is there nothing on it that interests you? If that's the case, you can tell me. I can have my people inform the manager of Amyris Leaf Bar to spread some rumors."
Gwen considered this for a moment before deciding there was no harm in telling him. She organized her thoughts and said,
"We need three things in total… The first is an extraordinary item that aids divination, for Tran. Our budget is around 500 gold pounds."
Divination was crucial for avoiding dangers, and since they planned to seek out Roselle's Golden Snake Treasure, enhancing their divination abilities was a wise move.
Ebner nodded thoughtfully, signaling for her to continue.
"The second item is something I want—a piece of extraordinary equipment with mental attack abilities. It would greatly enhance my combat effectiveness… To be honest, what I liked most was the Dragon's Might you used when dealing with that 'Madman' last time… but something of that caliber is far too expensive for us to afford. So, this one has the same budget, between 400 and 500 pounds."
Oh? Planning to cement the nickname 'Dragon's Might Lady' now?
Ebner chuckled inwardly. He could already imagine what would happen—previous challengers, having been thoroughly defeated due to lack of mental defenses, would spread the word that Dragon's Might was overrated. The next batch of opponents would come fully equipped with anti-mind control artifacts, only to be taken down by a completely different combat technique…
That would certainly make for an amusing spectacle.
After a brief moment of thought, Ebner said with interest, "If you're looking for something with Mind Pierce capabilities, I might be able to craft an item for you… But it won't be cheap."
Previously, when Klein had asked him to break the Aurora Order's Abyss of Flesh ritual, the reward had been a Interrogator trait.
Using that trait, Ebner had crafted a pair of glasses named Irresistible Fear, which had fetched an impressive price of 4,450 pounds after a demonstration by the late 'Doctor.' However, some auxiliary materials from the process still remained.
Ordinarily, he would have used his Pure White Eye to design rituals and imbue materials with temporary abilities. But due to the short duration of these enhancements, he rarely found them worth selling.
Most of the time, I just use them to help Xio make all kinds of anti-supernatural bullets…
But now, the situation had changed.
The Cursed Tudor Emblem, a demigod-level item of the Black Emperor pathway, possessed the ability to amplify—it could magnify the effects of actions or items!
And that ability was precisely what he needed to extend the duration of his Pure White Eye enhancements.
Moreover, the leftover materials from his previous crafting were well-suited for imbuing Mind Pierce effects.
Ebner had already considered this potential use for the sealed artifact, but he had yet to test it.
That was why he told Miss Gwen the price wouldn't be cheap—after all, he had no idea how many attempts it would take to succeed…
And auxiliary materials cost money too!
"How much are we talking about?" Gwen exchanged glances with her two "investors" before mustering the courage to ask.
"I can't say for sure yet. I'll need to get my hands on the materials first," Ebner replied, shaking his head. Then, he followed up with another question. "What's the third item you need?"
"We're looking for a defensive item… preferably something that can generate a barrier. The places we plan to explore might be quite dangerous," Gwen answered honestly after a moment of thought.
"Creating barriers is typically a mid-sequence ability. Given the level of Amyris Leaf Bar, it's unlikely anything like that will show up," Ebner said truthfully.
Even he needed to rely on rituals and mystical items to set up barriers in advance.
"We're just hoping for a lucky break," Gwen admitted, knowing the chances were slim, so she didn't bother mentioning a budget.
"In addition to gold pounds, do you have anything else you could offer for trade? The owner of a divination aid might not be willing to sell for money alone, but if you have something they desperately need, it could change their mind," Ebner suggested as he finished his last piece of bread and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
Gwen nodded thoughtfully, then turned to discuss with Lydia in a low voice. After a brief exchange, she looked back at Ebner and carefully stated,
"We can offer the Sequence 9 and Sequence 8 potion formulas for the Warrior pathway.
"We also have a collection of over ten effective potions, including Sleeping Potion and Serenity Potion.
"And finally, we have a Folk of Rage Beyonder characteristic."
Ebner immediately recognized the source of the Folk of Rage trait—it had belonged to White Shark Hamilton from Damir Island.
Previously, Hamilton had tried to capture Ebner to use as leverage against Gwen, only to be subdued by Lydia and Tran and turned into a blood thrall.
However, blood thralls often exhibited unusual behavior, making it impossible to hide his condition from the major pirates backing White Shark. Unable to keep him, Lydia had extracted all his secrets and then ordered him to "perform" in front of his own subordinates before purchasing a ticket for him to leave Damir.
Not long after, he conveniently disappeared…
Or, to put it more accurately, he was quietly executed by Lydia—after all, blood thralls couldn't disobey their master.
Since they couldn't give this trait to any of their crew members without raising suspicion, they had planned to sell it at the gathering.
After a few seconds of thought, Ebner quickly pieced together the likely backstory. However, he didn't press for details. Instead, he simply nodded and said, "Alright, I'll arrange for someone to negotiate with the people at Amyris Leaf Bar."
After breakfast, Gwen bid Ebner farewell and left the estate. She planned to return to her ship to retrieve the giant descendant's notebook for their exchange.
—The night before, after dinner, Ebner had already provided her with the Dawn Paladin potion formula. However, she hadn't been carrying the notebook at the time.
Meanwhile, Ebner sent his butler to relay the message to Amyris Leaf Bar and then returned to the basement. With Helene diligently boiling water to assist, he began testing his earlier hypothesis.
…
In a small inn near the docks, Alger suddenly received a piece of news:
"Someone at the gathering will be selling the Pugilist potion formula?
"And they need a divination aid?"